


Hearts in Cages

by MyMuseHatesMe



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Frankenstein (Mary Shelley), Blood, Character Death, Emotional Manipulation, Multi, Obsessive Behavior, slight stockholm syndrome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-02
Updated: 2019-11-02
Packaged: 2021-01-16 19:15:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21276305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyMuseHatesMe/pseuds/MyMuseHatesMe
Summary: Frankenstein AU.  You are Chuck’s helper as he takes on the task of reanimating the dead.  Female reader.





	Hearts in Cages

**Author's Note:**

> “Hearts are wild creatures, that’s why our ribs are cages.” ― Elalusz

The entrance of Chuck’s first son into the world was terrifying.

Blood dripped through fresh stitches onto the stone floor. Cold March rain spattered through the open space in the roof. Bright flashes of lightning followed by startlingly loud crashes of thunder that rattled the glass windows throughout the castle. Michael’s sudden screaming from the raised platform that swayed slightly.

Chuck was elated at his success. You were horrified. Michael’s black hair was a mess of blood and rain and his sea blue eyes were bloodshot and terrified at the new sensations he was experiencing.

Shurley’s pride in his ‘son’ was overwhelming – at least for the first few days, where he helped you show Michael the basics on how to walk, dress himself, and care for himself before leaving you to teach him how to speak, read, and write. He then immediately set himself the goal of creating another son.

Raphael was a little smoother. June nights were oppressively hot and the warm rain was welcomed by both you and Chuck. When the lightning struck, sparks rained down and a few papers caught fire. You lowered the slab as Chuck raced around, putting out the flames. Raphael’s throat worked as you undid his bindings, whimpers and half-syllables as he tried to speak. You shushed him and told him that he was all right and that his name was Raphael. As he sat up and held tightly to you, Chuck closed the roof. Over the grinding, you heard him whisper his name as his dark eyes bored into yours. You huffed an awe-filled laugh and called Chuck over, who shared your joy. He was able to speak much sooner than Michael was.

But Chuck’s engagement with his newer son only extended the same amount as his with Michael. Again, he left it to you to teach his son; and again he set to create a newer son.

When it was Lucifer’s turn to be animated, you sent Michael and Raphael to their rooms and stood on the catwalk to watch this August miracle. The lightning struck the corpse squarely in the chest and you covered your eyes too late; the bolt scorched into your retinas and the thunder left your ears ringing. When sound returned, you heard him screaming.

He was still shaking an hour later, but there wasn’t any blood to wash out of his blond hair and his eyes (so blue, so clear) were not reddened with ruptured vessels.

You begged Chuck to stay with his sons for a while instead of retreating to his laboratory as he always did. He reluctantly agreed. You left Michael and Raphael to interact and learn from their father as you took care of Lucifer.

Over the course of the next few weeks, you saw how much Michael, Raphael, and Lucifer adored their father and how Chuck taught them all logic. Their personalities slowly emerged and you shared Chuck’s pride in how his children were growing into their adult bodies.

Michael immersed himself in medieval history – learning about swords and knights and codes of conduct – and claimed the forgery and metalwork room for himself. Raphael took to walking the two hours to the village to watch the people and tend to the animals wandering the streets. Lucifer spent days and nights in the huge garden on the castle grounds; you helped him with the garden, even helping him bring some of the plants inside.

But soon enough, as you knew it would happen, Chuck began spending more and more time in the laboratory. He would occasionally come down and ask for your opinion on something, which you would curtly give and return to whatever you had previously been doing.

You were angry at Chuck for all the energy he had invested in giving his sons life, but investing barely anything in comparison to teaching them what to do with their lives.  _ You _ were the one to teach them right and wrong,  _ you _ were the one that read them stories,  _ you _ were the one that walked with them in the evenings down to the village when the darkness disguised their scars and burns.

If Chuck wanted another son, he could do it himself. You were going to have to pick up the pieces when he was finished, anyway.

You were sitting in front of the fireplace, helping Michael sharpen the sword he had made when he asked, “Is Father going to give me another brother soon?”

You could only nod at his understanding.

He barely spared you a glance as he asked, “Are you going to help him?”

You didn’t answer.

* * *

Raphael was shoeing a horse in the stable when he asked you, “Are you going to assist Father this round? I know you refrained from helping with Lucifer, but I believe it would be beneficial to our unborn brother if you were there.”

You were too stunned at that to say anything.

* * *

Snow blanketed the garden outside, but Lucifer had made a conservatory that held his favorite flowers. You and he sat cross-legged on the floor and you helped him weave a flower crown. He glanced through the hallway and at the large wooden door of the laboratory and whispered, “When I was born, you were blinded and deafened.”

Your eyes snapped up to his and your mouth fell open to prepare a retort, but you were silenced when he reached out to you and crowned you with the loop of wild, colorful flowers. It settled over your ears and you closed your eyes in the calmness that followed his gentle offering.

When you opened your eyes, he was already looking at you with intention and said, “You are our Mother and he is our Father. Be there for him. Be there for our new sibling.”

And so, you announced your presence in the laboratory loudly by shoving the doors open and slamming them behind you before striding up next to Chuck and looking over his drawings. You didn’t miss the way his demeanor lit up and he was more energetic in his efforts as he caught you up to what he had already done.

It was mid-December when Gabriel was raised; there was no screaming, no lightning, or thunder. Chuck had found a way to bypass his need for the electricity in the lightning that he had been so dependent on for his last three sons.

Michael, Raphael, and Lucifer all delighted in welcoming their new brother and helping him learn and discover the world.

And then Chuck left suddenly and without a word to you or anyone, leaving you with four men to look after, who all had questions that you couldn’t answer. They couldn’t understand why he had left, nor could you – but you found solace in the fact that none of them blamed each other for his flight from the castle.

* * *

There was a natural order to things: Life and Death. Dragging a human from one side to other – especially from Death to Life – was not without consequence.

Michael carried his sword around and from the corner of your eyes, you could swear it was ablaze. (He started locking himself in the forgery for days at a time and every time he emerged, he had a newly crafted weapon in his hands.) Raphael would look at an object on the other side of the room and within the blink of an eye, it would be in his hands. (He held his hand up and inspected it, blue energy crackling in arcs between and along his fingers.) Lucifer stood barefoot in the garden for hours and in the morning, the foliage would have doubled – one side of the castle covered in ivy and morning glories. (He held a white rabbit to his chest and hummed quietly to the creature. It was only after he laid it down and walked away that you realized he somehow had killed it by singing to it.) Gabriel would stand on the edge of the roof and when you would call out to him to come down, he wouldn’t be there – you would turn around and find him standing behind you. (He walked by a mirror and it wasn’t his reflection in the glass. He caught your eyes in the mirror once. He smirked, and the glass cracked.)

They began talking less. They started staring at each other, somehow synchronized as though a discussion had taken place. Their touches started lingering, on each other and on you.

It wasn’t normal. But then again, neither was what you and Chuck had done to those corpses.

You were suddenly very afraid.

* * *

One morning you awoke and found the castle empty. You left to go to the village for supplies but were confused when you noticed a strange ridging of earth circling the castle – as though a channel had been dug and the dirt piled up alongside it.

Dread settled in your stomach as you approached the edge. You couldn’t pass over it. There seemed to be an invisible barrier that did not allow you to cross over.

“Mother?”

You started violently and spun to face Gabriel, whose head was lowered slightly and his shoulders were set. His eyes, which normally glinted with joy and mischief, were now darkened with suspicion and his mouth was turned in a slight frown.

“Where are you going?” He glanced over your shoulder at the winding road that led down to the village. Opening your mouth to explain the simplicity of your errand, he cut you off with, “Father already left us. Did you think we’d let you leave us, too?” He laid a hand on your shoulder and you were both suddenly back inside the castle.

You watched Lucifer walk the perimeter, hovering his hand over the raised earth. Vines and branches rose up from the ground, winding over themselves into a thick, thorny barrier and bloomed red, red roses. The sun set and when dawn broke, the rosebushes had spread into a maze. You went to the top of the castle and tried to solve it, but you couldn’t.

Raphael came up to get you and Michael told you that you weren’t allowed to go up to the roof anymore.

* * *

One night, the four of you sat in front of the blazing fireplace, the four sons sitting in comfortable silence with you between them all. In those quiet moments, you liked to reflect on how your life became the mess that it currently was.

Michael closed his book and looked at you. “Father never claimed you, did he?”

You blinked a few times, trying to catch up to what he just asked you. Looking up at him, you asked, “What is that supposed to mean?”

Lucifer sat down on the floor next to you. “He means,” he said, lifting your left hand and stroking the place where a ring would be, “this. You’re not his, you’re not Father’s.”

Oh. “Yes, well,” you murmured, “I think we all know that he and I weren’t a good match.”

He slid his hands around your waist and pulled you into his lap. You took in a breath of surprise and scrabbled for a grip on something solid. He shushed you gently, arranging the two of you so your legs stretched out on either side of his while he pressed his knees together and raised them, making you feel like a child cradled in an adult’s lap. Your back was to his chest and you both were in a half-sitting position as his arm draped over your stomach.

It was strangely possessive. But comforting in an odd sort of way. You let your eyes fall shut and forced your muscles to relax.

The shuffling that heralded movement did not alarm you. The body sliding over yours, however, did.

Your eyes snapped open just as Gabriel lowered himself onto your hips to straddle you. “Gabriel, what-”

He leaned forward and kissed the corner of your mouth. You were frozen in shock and barely registered that he leaned past you and kissed Lucifer, who shifted forward slightly to meet him. You looked over Gabriel’s shoulder to lock eyes with Raphael. He was smirking fondly at the three of you on the floor.

Then Gabriel pulled back from Lucifer and nuzzled into your neck, opening his mouth and running his tongue over your skin. It took you a moment to realize he was kissing you. And it took you another moment to realize that Lucifer was gently pulling your head back and to the side to allow Gabriel better access by stroking your scalp in a calming manner.

This wasn’t right.  _ This was not right. _ You helped make them- well, build them. They called you ‘Mother’-

“Hey, hey,” Gabriel soothed, cupping your jaw in his hands and sitting up to look into your eyes, “Don’t panic. We won’t hurt you.”

You swallowed. “Do you promise me?”

His expression softened and he offered a strange half-smile. “We promise – all of us – that we will never hurt you.”

* * *

“There’s something I think you’ll want to see,” Gabriel says, taking your hand and walking you to the wide window that overlooked a good majority of the rose maze. You gasped when you saw what he meant.

Chuck was back! He stood at the entrance of the maze with his bag slung over his shoulder as Michael stood before him, his flaming sword held at his side. They spoke for a bit and Michael occasionally gestured at the castle behind him with his sword.

Then Michael lowered his head and nodded, stepping aside and sweeping an arm to gesture his Father inside. Chuck passed by him warily and glanced up at you through the window.

You reached out and placed your hand on the window. Chuck offered a small smile and then turned his attention to the maze before him. Gabriel allowed you a moment before pulling you away from the window and leading you down to the conservatory.

Lucifer’s plants had all but taken over the room, covering the floor in a green carpet and climbing the walls. He was barefoot and had his back to you and Gabriel. “So, he’s here, then?” He didn’t turn to face you, but continued tending to the plant in front of him, “He’s back?”

“Seems that way,” Raphael said, striding in, “Michael sent him into the maze. Said if he finished it by nightfall, he’d see what his ‘genius’ wrought.”

“Hmm,” Lucifer rolled his neck and turned to face you, a wicked grin on his face, “And if he doesn’t make it by then?”

“Don’t concern yourself with that, Brother,” Michael appeared next to the window and surveyed the maze, “The outcome will be the same.”

* * *

Chuck entered the foyer just as the sun was setting. He immediately called out for you. “Y/N? Where are you?”

You, along with your four sons, were in the library, the fire crackling behind you all. Raphael and Michael stood on either side of you, Michael held on to your hand (so as to not allow you to go to Chuck like you wanted to) and Raphael rested his hand on your shoulder. Lucifer stood next to Michael and Gabriel was sitting on an elaborate chair, draped dramatically over it like he fancied himself a king and the chair was his throne.

Chuck entered the library and stopped suddenly, taking in the scene before him. He dropped his bag on the floor and carefully approached Michael. He held his arms away from his body, trying to show that he didn’t have any weapons on his person, and stopped several feet from his eldest son. “Michael,” he began in a deliberately calm tone, “I am here. I am home.”

“That, I see.” Michael released your hand and slowly advanced upon his Father, “Seven and a half months, Father. You never told us why you left. You never told Mother why you left.”

At the term ‘Mother,’ Chuck’s eyes blazed with a strange mix of emotions and he growled, “She’s not your-”

“ _ Yes _ ,” Lucifer hissed dangerously, baring his teeth at him, “she  _ is _ .”

“What you did to us, Father,” Raphael began, rubbing small circles at the base of your skull with his thumb, “was not natural.”

“And then you left us,” Michael purred, stalking predatorially around Chuck, “You left us, and you left her.”

“Which wasn’t very nice of you,” Gabriel chastised in a light tone, tilting his head to the side, “Was it?”

Lucifer reached out and took your hand. You didn’t realize how badly you were shaking until you held his. “It’s going to be all right,” he promised in a whisper, “Trust us.”

You didn’t know if you  _ could _ trust them.

Raphael’s grip on you tightened and you instinctively took in a breath and held Lucifer’s hand tighter. “Chuck?” A tear tracked down your cheek as you locked eyes with him.

His expression was fearful and apologetic. “Y/N, I’m sorry-”

“Do it,” Michael ordered.

Raphael twisted his hand sharply and your head snapped to the side.

* * *

It was quiet. Warm. A voice. Another voice.

Crack. A thud. You opened your eyes.

Four men were smiling at you, and two of them helped you to your feet. They were your brothers.

Gabriel. Raphael. Lucifer. Michael.

They said they were your family. That you could trust them. That they would teach you everything you needed to know.

That made you happy. You had a family – you were loved. You had a big house and they promised to protect you – you were safe.

Michael gave you a knife and taught you how to use it. (You held his flaming sword and swung it down on a table, cracking it in half. He should have been angry, you realized after, but in that moment, all he could do was smile and laugh and tell you how strong you were.)

Raphael taught you to channel the energies that bubbled up inside you. (You were frightened one night when the sky lit up with branches of light and deafening  _ boom _ s that rattled the windows – you made all the lights in the house go out, and he was the first to come and calm you down.)

Lucifer walked with you in his garden and taught you to sing. (He told you to sing for the trees and you did – you sang, and they grew six feet taller. A few weeks later, you pricked yourself on the thorns of Lucifer’s maze and where your blood fell, a new rose grew.)

Gabriel showed you how to take a step in one room and take the next to end up in a different room on the other side of the castle. (You once Stepped yourself to someplace far away to a place cold and gray, where water thundered and sprayed salt on your face. You found some strange pebbles that looked dull glass and brought them back to Gabriel, your clothes dusted with the salt water. He was not happy when you returned.)

You were sat down and told that you were not allowed to Step anywhere outside of the castle. It wasn’t safe for you past the circle of roses, so if you wanted to go anywhere, you had to go with one of them.

You nodded and they smiled at you, each taking a turn at kissing the top of your head.

They would keep you safe, but you had to follow the rules. They only wanted you happy, but you had to listen to them. They were your brothers, after all.

And they loved you.


End file.
